It’s a sad fact many 401k plans are bad: the investment choices are poor; the fees are high. People naturally ask if there’s a way to take the money out of the plan to their own account. We all know when you leave your job, you can. It’s called a 401k rollover. In most cases […]
Latest Blog Posts
Who Is A Millionaire?
I hear people use the word millionaire, but I’m not sure what exactly it means. For example, President Obama said in his latest State of the Union address, “Before we take money away from our schools or scholarships away from our students, we should ask millionaires to give up their tax break.” Who exactly are […]
Social Security Family Benefits Mess
Most of people think of Social Security as a government managed savings program similar to a 401k plan: you pay into the system when you are working; you draw from the system when you retire. More informed people will point out it isn’t so. It’s a pay-as-you-go inter-generation transfer program. The money you (and your […]
Claiming Parent As Dependent On Tax Return
Reader Bill asked me if it’s possible to list his parents as dependents on his tax return. Bill’s parents are foreign citizens. They came to visit him and lived with him for eight months last year. We are all familiar with children as dependents. Can parents also be dependents for tax purposes? I consulted my […]
More From Argentina: Middleman and Consumption Smoothing
For those keeping track, I’m happy to report that I’m writing this from safety in Argentina. I, together with some other foreign tourists, got out of the literal tourist trap set by the Chilean protestors by walking 6 hours, refugee style, to the Argentina border. We successfully crossed two blockades before we reached the border. […]
How To Call US Toll Free Numbers From Overseas
When you are overseas you can still call US toll-free number free of charge, only if you know how.
Timing Mutual Fund Purchases Around Year-End Distributions Backfired Again
Financial advisor Allan Roth has a pet peeve against the Associated Press’s habit of reporting the raw S&P 500 index changes as if they are the U.S. stock market returns. He argues the true U.S. stock market returns should (a) include dividends; and (b) include small caps. I agree with him, but the media don’t […]
The Best Way to Use a Donor Advised Fund
Speaking of donating appreciated shares to charities, I read a great article by Nickel at FiveCentNickel.com about using a donor advised fund as an alternative to donating shares directly to each individual charity. Donor Advised Fund In a Nutshell A donor advised fund lets you do time-shifting. You donate and take the tax deduction now. […]
How To Donate Or Gift Shares to Charity Or Family Member
You probably heard donating appreciated stocks or mutual fund shares to a charity is more cost effective than donating cash. The charity gets the shares. You get a tax deduction for the full value (if you itemize) and you avoid paying capital gains tax. You can also gift appreciated shares to a family member who […]
Three Tax Cuts That Are Not Extended
Although the Bush tax cuts were extended for another two years, some tax incentives were not extended because they weren’t part of the Bush tax cuts. They fall into the one-time stimulus category. Residential Energy Tax Credit The Residential Energy Property Credit provides a 30% tax credit of up to $1,500 over a two-year period […]